It was a first for Florida State University late last month when six of the university’s students travelled to Washington D.C. to lobby for student loan reform.

The trip, which took place between June 24 and 28, came just days before a July 1 deadline when interest rates on subsidized Federal Stafford Loans were set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent unless legislation was passed to prevent the increase.

And while no such measure was passed, Stefano Cavallaro, the director of the FSU Student Government Association Office of Governmental Affairs and one of the students who travelled to Washington last month, said he is hopeful that lawmakers will continue to work toward student loan reform.

“We spoke to representatives and senators and advocated for a fair and long-term solution for student loans, and I think we’ll see an effort relatively soon,” Cavallaro said. During the lobbying trip, the student representatives met with a number of lawmakers, including Mass. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who introduced a bill in May that sought to lower student loans interest rates to .75 percent.

Five of the students to go on the trip – Student Body President Rosie Contreras, OGA Deputy Director Carter Mack, Cavallaro and student senators Sarah Faith and Charles Castagna – are members of the university’s SGA, while Ryan Taylor is with the FSU Collegiate Veterans Association.

The students were not accompanied by a faculty or administrative supervisor, however. Vicki Dobiyanski, the university’s director of student affairs who oversees Student Government, confirmed that such unaccompanied trips are common practice among other colleges and universities. Dobiyanski declined a formal interview.

The five-day trip was funded by university Activity and Service fees as part of the OGA’s annual budget. Cavallaro initially believed the trip to cost a little under $4,500 but later corrected that amount to be somewhere between $3,500 and $4,000. The OGA’s 2013 budget is currently set at $58,000.

According to Cavallaro, other university student governments from around the country, including the University of Florida, make lobbying trips to Washington. Student veterans’ issues also seemed to dominate the conversation during the students’ trip. Ryan Taylor, the president of FSU’s CVA joined the Student Government representatives in Washington. He said the lobbying efforts focused largely on HR 357, a bill that, if passed, would allow veterans to pay in-state tuition at public universities regardless of state residency.

“Veterans tend to move around and it’s not always easy to establish residency in a state before you start college,” Taylor said. “FSU has done this for a while, and this was a really great opportunity to affect change on a bigger scale.”

Taylor also said the students discussed the early stages of seeking appropriations for a new ROTC facility at FSU with lawmakers.

“The current ROTC facility is one of the most outdated buildings on campus, and considering how much of a presence student veterans have at Florida State, a new facility is something that we want to pursue,” Taylor said. He also said that the students spoke with Fla. Congressman C.W. Bill Young about the project. Young sponsored the federal grant that funded the construction of the University of South Florida’s ROTC building in 2007.

“I think this trip really helped us take some positive steps, and I’m proud that I got to be a part of it,” Taylor said.

Student Body President Rosie Contreras did not respond to a request for comment on the lobbying efforts.